Clear History

"Clear History" is like an extended episode of L. D.'s Curb Your Enthusiasm. It has the same spirit, the same jokes, but yet it works on its own. How could this be? I think it's all thanks to a brilliant vision of a true genius of comedy genre, mr. Larry David.

Clear History centers on Nathan Flomm (L. D.), a marketing executive, who works for and is also a partner with Will Haney (Jon Hamm); they're working on an idea of a revolutionary electric car, but when the name of the car becomes an issue for Nathan, they part their ways. Nathan regrets it and wants to get back on the business, but Will refuses him. Nathan, in order to avoid the humiliation of having missed out on a hugely successful business, assumes a new identity on Martha's Vineyard. One day (after 10 years) a well known face shows up in town (Will Haney), and leaves Nathan no option but to plot revenge.

Any "Curb Your Enthusiasm" fan won't be disappointed with what "Clear History" has to offers, and anybody else who is not familiar with Larry David's career will enjoy it too, only for the fact that the movie is a fun ride. The jokes hit the mark, the story is simple (it's easy to follow it), the ensemble cast dances with L. D's tune and also the soundtrack (mostly supplied by Chicago's discography) make it a worthy watch on a small scale.

Not everyone is a raving fan of "Curb Your Enthusiasm." The show is often like watching a root- canal procedure as Larry David's character plunges himself into one unnecessary, painfully embarrassing situation after another. There's some of that in "Clear History," but the character has mellowed. You can understand why people like Rolly, the name of the hard-luck case Larry David plays here. He's irascible, but then the other people in his little community are just as irascible and just as quirky; he fits in well. "Clear History" is a farce, a word that I wouldn't exactly apply to "Curb." It's a sequence of disasters based on carefully timed misunderstandings. The scene where Rolly is on the way to stop one such disaster when he has to pause when he encounters two friends who have just been in a motorcycle accident is priceless. He tell the two friends that he just doesn't have time to help them; the two friends are incredulous and angry, but he's actually right! If you were in his situation, you wouldn't help them and you wouldn't be able to explain either. The crush Rolly develops on Kate Hudson's character is also believable and funny, especially the way it (of course) comes crashing down around him.

The cast is terrific. Watch for Liev Schreiber in an uncredited role.

If you're a fan of Larry David's (and I am) this feature film should make you very happy. It's very much like an extended episode of Curb Your Enthusiasm with the same sort of quirky observational humor and dependence on Larry's obsessions with the minutia of every day life. The revenge plot, the back story are just scaffolding on which to build the kind of gags that made Seinfeld and Curb so satisfying. Is Larry exploring new territory? No. But expecting LD to be different is like expecting Woody to be a different person in his films. One can argue that Woody and Bob Hope and Danny Kaye are always themselves (or at least their comic personae) in all of their movies. And I wouldn't have it any other way. There are lots of laughs in this film and Larry delivers in his signature style.

I do watch Curb Your Enthusiasm and think it's a funny but crazy show. When I found this movie on HBO I just read the plot, I didn't read any reviews. If I had done that I might have understood that this is a movie very much featuring Larry Davids mind and ideas. It is like a long episode of Curb Your Enthusiasm with a similar kind of plot. It's a movie about a very "special" person that always feels the need to say everything he thinks out loud and that always feels neglected. Just like Larry in Curb Your Enthusiasm.

It is a funny movie but I think some may think it's a bit too much like Curb Your Enthusiasm. It even has the same kind of music. The movie is entertaining but quirky!

Will Haney (Jon Hamm) is making an electric car calling it Howard. The PR manager Nathan Flomm (Larry David) refuses to market the car due to the name and sells back his 10% of the company. The company becomes a giant success and Nathan becomes a laughing stock. Ten years later, he's working on Martha's Vineyard under the name Rolly DaVore and with a different look. Everybody seems to like him but nobody knows his true past. Will shows up having bought a large property but he doesn't recognize Nathan.

I don't watch Curb although I know Larry David's character. The premise is silly but it does lead to some good poetic justice. Instead of electric cars, I'd do the iPhone. The electric car looks silly in a bad way. Instead of Siri, people would ask Howard. It's a cheaper and funnier joke. After the initial bearded first act, Larry David returns to looking like Larry David. There are some good laughs and there are a lot of A-list actors. At some point, Rolly does get more frustratingly selfish than hilariously stupid. It's a balancing act of me liking or disliking him. For some reason, Will's reveal of wanting to repay him actually make me like him more. At that point, his stupidity is self-destructive and that's funny to me. For Curb's fans, I think this would be a blast. As a Curb non-fan, I like this half of the time and I find it tolerable in the other half.